LAS VEGAS — Kenneth D. Goodrich, managing partner of Nevada investment group Phoenix Peach LLC, announced that he has established a $100,000 scholarship endowment at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN). Called the Kenneth and Wendy Goodrich CSN Post-9/11 Veteran HVAC Employment Program, the endowment was developed to aid military veterans enrolled in the school’s Air Conditioning Technology program.

CSN plans to use the funds to help military veterans who are graduates of the program purchase the necessary tools so they can immediately go to work in the HVAC industry in southern Nevada.

“Veterans have the type of good, strong training that employers in the air conditioning industry want to see,” said Dennis Soukup, chair of the CSN Applied Technologies Department. “With their military training, the knowledge they receive from CSN, and now the tools provided by this endowment, we expect these veterans to easily transition into lifelong careers following graduation.”

Tools are a necessary component for individuals looking for employment in the HVAC industry. While some employers provide a portion of these tools, essential items such as gauges and meters can often cost a worker more than $1,000. CSN plans to use the endowment to develop toolkits for these veterans, presenting them upon graduation.

The endowment was envisioned by Goodrich to act as a subsidy to the existing Post-9/11 GI Bill. This bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service after Sept. 10, 2001. However, the bill does not cover the costs of items such as tools, creating a need that Goodrich sought to help fill.

“I have had the pleasure of meeting many veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq, and they are the type of disciplined, responsible people that employers in the air conditioning industry need,” Goodrich said. “I am proud to provide this endowment as a means to help veteran-students in southern Nevada easily transition into their careers. These are our nation’s heroes, and I’m excited to see what they accomplish in this next phase of their lives.”

The endowment is expected to reach more than a dozen of the more than 360 students currently enrolled in the Air Conditioning Technology program at CSN. However, as more and more servicemen and women return from active duty, Soukup anticipates that the number of veterans in the program will increase significantly over the next few years.

Goodrich has also donated equipment and established other endowments at CSN in the past. In addition, he currently owns Goettl Good Guys Air Conditioning Repairmen and The Sunny Plumber companies in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., and he plans to launch the Good Guys Air Conditioning Repairmen brand in southern Nevada next year.

Publication date: 6/24/2013

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